US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama arrive at Robert Gray Army Airfield on April 9, 2014 in Killeen, Texas. Obama is in Texas to first attend a memorial service for the victims of last week's shooting at Fort Hood and then attend two fund raisers for the Democratic National Committee, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. AFP PHOTO/Brendan SMIALOWSKIBRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

Photo By Carolyn Kaster/Associated Press

President Barack Obama bends to pick something up from the steps as he and first lady Michelle Obama get off Air Force One upon their at Robert Gray Army Air Field in Killeen, Texas, Wednesday, April 9, 2014, as they travel to Fort Hood for a memorial service for those killed there in a shooting last week. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Photo By BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama arrive at Robert Gray Army Airfield on April 9, 2014 in Killeen, Texas. Obama is in Texas to first attend a memorial service for the victims of last week's shooting at Fort Hood and then attend two fund raisers for the Democratic National Committee, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. AFP PHOTO/Brendan SMIALOWSKIBRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

Photo By BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

US President Barack Obama (2L) and US First Lady Michelle Obama (R) are greeted by Army Lt. General Mark Milley (2R) his wife Hollyanne Milley (L) at Robert Gray Army Airfield on April 9, 2014 in Killeen, Texas. Obama is in Texas to first attend a memorial service for the victims of last week's shooting at Fort Hood and then attend two fund raisers for the Democratic National Committee, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. AFP PHOTO/Brendan SMIALOWSKIBRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

Photo By Carolyn Kaster/Associated Press

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama are greeted by Fort Hood commander Lt. Gen. Mark A. Milley, and is wife Hollyanne Milley as they arrive at Robert Gray Army Air Field in Killeen, Texas, Wednesday, April 9, 2014, as they travel to Fort Hood for a memorial service for those killed there in a shooting last week. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Photo By Carolyn Kaster/Associated Press

President Barack Obama is greeted by Fort Hood, commander Lt. Gen. Mark A. Milley as he arrives on Air Force One at Robert Gray Army Air Field in Killeen, Texas, Wednesday, April 9, 2014, en route to Fort Hood for a memorial service for those killed there in a shooting last week. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Photo By Carolyn Kaster/Associated Press

President Barack Obama salutes as he and and first lady Michelle Obama board Air Force One, Wednesday, April 9, 2014, in Andrews Air Force Base, Md., as they travel to Texas to attend Democratic fundraising events and to visit Fort Hood for a ceremony honoring those injured and killed there last week. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Photo By BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

A soldier walks past a flag at half staff before a memorial service at Fort Hood on April 9, 2014 in Texas. US President Barack Obama attended a memorial service for the three people killed and 16 wounded during last weeks shooting at the post by Army Specialist Ivan Lopez who later took his own life. AFP PHOTO/Brendan SMIALOWSKIBRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

Photo By BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

A Soldiers wait for a memorial service at Fort Hood April 9, 2014 in Texas. US President Barack Obama attended a memorial service for the three people killed and 16 wounded during last weeks shooting at the post by Army Specialist Ivan Lopez who later took his own life. AFP PHOTO/Brendan SMIALOWSKIBRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

Photo By Erich Schlegel/Getty Images

KILEEN, TX - APRIL 9: Invited guests arrive before U.S. President Barack Obama speaks at a memorial for victims of last week's shooting on the U.S. Army post at Fort Hood military base on April 9, 2014 in Kileen, Texas. During the shooting rampage on April 2, Army Spc. Ivan Lopez killed three people and wounded 16 others before taking his own life.

Photo By Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama arrive for the III Corps and Fort Hood Memorial Ceremony, Wednesday, April 9, 2014. Sgt. First Class Daniel Michael Ferguson, Staff Sgt. Carlos Alberto Lazaney-Rodriguez and Sgt. Timothy Wayne Owens were killed and 16 others wounded when Spec. Ivan Lopez opened fire the April 2 attack at the installation. Lopez committed suicide after the attack.

Photo By Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama the III Corps and Fort Hood Memorial Ceremony after paying their last respects, Wednesday, April 9, 2014. Sgt. First Class Daniel Michael Ferguson, Staff Sgt. Carlos Alberto Lazaney-Rodriguez and Sgt. Timothy Wayne Owens were killed and 16 others wounded when Spec. Ivan Lopez opened fire the April 2 attack at the installation. Lopez committed suicide after the attack.

Photo By DOUG MILLS/New York Times

A memorial to three slain soldiers stands before a podium where President Barack Obama delivers remarks about the recent mass shooting carried out by Spc. Ivan A. Lopez at Fort Hood, Texas, April 9, 2014. Obama last visited the base in 2009 for a memorial for another mass shooting, carried out by Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan.

Photo By DOUG MILLS/New York Times

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama attend a memorial ceremony for three soldiers slain at a mass shooting carried out by Spc. Ivan Lopez, at Fort Hood, Texas, April 9, 2014. Obama last visited the base in 2009 for a memorial for another mass shooting, carried out by Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan.

Photo By Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News

Photo of the Fallen Soldier Memorial for Sgt. First Class Daniel Michael Ferguson after the III Corps and Fort Hood Memorial Ceremony, Wednesday, April 9, 2014. Ferguson along with Staff Sgt. Carlos Alberto Lazaney-Rodriguez and Sgt. Timothy Wayne Owens were killed and 16 others wounded when Spec. Ivan Lopez opened fire the April 2 attack at the installation. Lopez committed suicide after the attack.

Photo By Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News

Photo of the Fallen Soldier Memorial for Staff Sgt. Carlos Alberto Lazaney-Rodriguez after the III Corps and Fort Hood Memorial Ceremony, Wednesday, April 9, 2014. Lazaney-Rodriguez along with Sgt. First Class Daniel Michael Ferguson and Sgt. Timothy Wayne Owens were killed and 16 others wounded when Spec. Ivan Lopez opened fire the April 2 attack at the installation. Lopez committed suicide after the attack.

Photo By Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News

Photo of the Fallen Soldier Memorial for Sgt. Timothy Wayne Owens after the III Corps and Fort Hood Memorial Ceremony, Wednesday, April 9, 2014. Owens along with Sgt. First Class Daniel Michael Ferguson and Staff Sgt. Carlos Alberto Lazaney-Rodriguez were killed and 16 others wounded when Spec. Ivan Lopez opened fire the April 2 attack at the installation. Lopez committed suicide after the attack.

People arrive for a memorial service at Fort Hood April 9, 2014 in Texas. US President Barack Obama attended a memorial service for the three people killed and 16 wounded during last weeks shooting at the post by Army Specialist Ivan Lopez who later took his own life. AFP PHOTO/Brendan SMIALOWSKIBRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

Photo By BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

People arrive for a memorial service at Fort Hood April 9, 2014 in Texas. US President Barack Obama attended a memorial service for the three people killed and 16 wounded during last weeks shooting at the post by Army Specialist Ivan Lopez who later took his own life. AFP PHOTO/Brendan SMIALOWSKIBRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

Photo By BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

People arrive for a memorial service at Fort Hood April 9, 2014 in Texas. US President Barack Obama attended a memorial service for the three people killed and 16 wounded during last weeks shooting at the post by Army Specialist Ivan Lopez who later took his own life. AFP PHOTO/Brendan SMIALOWSKIBRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

Photo By BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

People arrive for a memorial service at Fort Hood April 9, 2014 in Texas. US President Barack Obama attended a memorial service for the three people killed and 16 wounded during last weeks shooting at the post by Army Specialist Ivan Lopez who later took his own life. AFP PHOTO/Brendan SMIALOWSKIBRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

Photo By Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News

A soldier bows his head during the III Corps and Fort Hood Memorial Ceremony, Wednesday, April 9, 2014. Sgt. First Class Daniel Michael Ferguson, Staff Sgt. Carlos Alberto Lazaney-Rodriguez and Sgt. Timothy Wayne Owens were killed and 16 others wounded when Spec. Ivan Lopez opened fire the April 2 attack at the installation. Lopez committed suicide after the attack. President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama attended the service.

Photo By BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

Soldiers listen to the US national anthem during a memorial service at Fort Hood April 9, 2014 in Texas. US President Barack Obama attended a memorial service for the three people killed and 16 wounded during last weeks shooting at the post by Army Specialist Ivan Lopez who later took his own life. AFP PHOTO/Brendan SMIALOWSKIBRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

Photo By BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama arrive for a memorial service at Fort Hood April 9, 2014 in Texas. Obama attended the memorial service for the 3 killed and 16 wounded during last weeks shooting at the post by Army Specialist Ivan Lopez who later took his own life. AFP PHOTO/Brendan SMIALOWSKIBRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

Photo By BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama arrive for a memorial service at Fort Hood April 9, 2014 in Texas. US President Barack Obama attended a memorial service for the three people killed and 16 wounded during last weeks shooting at the post by Army Specialist Ivan Lopez who later took his own life. AFP PHOTO/Brendan SMIALOWSKIBRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

Photo By BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama arrive for a memorial service at Fort Hood April 9, 2014 in Texas. US President Barack Obama attended a memorial service for the three people killed and 16 wounded during last weeks shooting at the post by Army Specialist Ivan Lopez who later took his own life. AFP PHOTO/Brendan SMIALOWSKIBRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

Photo By Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News

President Barack Obama bows his head during the III Corps and Fort Hood Memorial Ceremony, Wednesday, April 9, 2014. Sgt. First Class Daniel Michael Ferguson, Staff Sgt. Carlos Alberto Lazaney-Rodriguez and Sgt. Timothy Wayne Owens were killed and 16 others wounded when Spec. Ivan Lopez opened fire the April 2 attack at the installation. Lopez committed suicide after the attack. First Lady Michelle Obama also attended the ceremony.

KILEEN, TX - APRIL 9: U.S. Army soldiers enter the area where U.S. President Barack Obama will speak at a memorial for victims of last week's shooting on the U.S. Army post at Fort Hood military base on April 9, 2014 in Kileen, Texas. During the shooting rampage on April 2, Army Spc. Ivan Lopez killed three people and wounded 16 others before taking his own life.

Photo By Carolyn Kaster/Associated Press

President Barack Obama walks with Colonel William M. Knight from Marine One to board Air Force One, Wednesday, April 9, 2014, in Andrews Air Force Base, Md., as he and first lady Michelle Obama, center in the background, travel to Texas to attend Democratic fundraising events and to visit Fort Hood for a ceremony honoring those injured and killed there last week. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Photo By Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News

Personnel prepare for a memorial service for the Fort Hood shooting victims before the arrival of President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, Wednesday, April 9, 2014. Three people were killed and 16 wounded when Spec. Ivan Lopez opened fire the April 2 attack at the installation. Lopez committed suicide after the attack.

Photo By Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News

Personnel prepare for a memorial service for the Fort Hood shooting victims before the arrival of President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, Wednesday, April 9, 2014. Three people were killed and 16 wounded when Spec. Ivan Lopez opened fire the April 2 attack at the installation. Lopez committed suicide after the attack.

Photo By Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News

Security sweeps the area before President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama arrive at a memorial service for the Fort Hood shooting victims, Wednesday, April 9, 2014. Three people were killed and 16 wounded when Spec. Ivan Lopez opened fire the April 2 attack at the installation. Lopez committed suicide after the attack.

Photo By Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News

Personnel prepare for a memorial service for the Fort Hood shooting victims before the arrival of President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, Wednesday, April 9, 2014. Three people were killed and 16 wounded when Spec. Ivan Lopez opened fire the April 2 attack at the installation. Lopez committed suicide after the attack.

Photo By Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News

Personnel prepare for a memorial service for the Fort Hood shooting victims before the arrival of President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, Wednesday, April 9, 2014. Three people were killed and 16 wounded when Spec. Ivan Lopez opened fire the April 2 attack at the installation. Lopez committed suicide after the attack.

Photo By Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News

Security remains tight before the arrival of President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama st a memorial service for the Fort Hood shooting victims, Wednesday, April 9, 2014. Three people were killed and 16 wounded when Spec. Ivan Lopez opened fire the April 2 attack at the installation. Lopez committed suicide after the attack.

AUSTIN - President Barack Obama's speech commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act on Thursday will be closely watched by those who would like to see the nation's first black president talk more extensively about black issues.

“I think he has talked about race a lot, but I don't think he has talked about the African American experience enough,” said Leonard N. Moore, professor of history and associate vice president in the division of diversity and community engagement at the University of Texas at Austin.

“While we are proud of him, we feel as if he has not given black issues enough of his attention,” said Moore, citing among them unemployment and education issues.

Obama delivered a significant speech on race when he ran for president in 2008 to answer the controversy over inflammatory comments by pastor Jeremiah Wright. He spoke in personal terms about race after Trayvon Martin's shooting death, and his White House has an initiative called “My Brother's Keeper,” focusing on opportunity for boys and young men of color.

But Obama, while citing programs that benefit African Americans along with others, also has said in the past, “I'm not the president of black America. I'm the president of the United States of America.”

Obama will speak on Thursday's closing day of the LBJ Presidential Library's Civil Rights Summit to commemorate Lyndon B. Johnson's 1964 signing of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibited discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin.

History professor Jeremi Suri of UT-Austin speculated that Obama will emphasize economic issues, voting rights and perhaps incarceration issues, and that he will point to instances in which Johnson's legislative achievements haven't been fully realized due to economic and other barriers.

“He has generally avoided explicit discussions of race” previously, said Suri, while acknowledging his 2008 campaign speech and mentions of the topic since then. Suri said the latter comments haven't fully articulated a position, however.

“I think it's pretty clear why he's avoided this, which is that he doesn't want to be typecast as 'the black American president' or as someone obsessed with race, especially in a context where race is so politicized,” said Suri, who holds the Mack Brown Distinguished Chair for Leadership in Global Affairs at UT-Austin.

“That's what makes his speech here on Thursday so interesting,” he said. “It's not just what he's going to be saying, it's that he's going to be saying it.”

Moore said he also thinks Obama has had an eye toward “not wanting to be pigeonholed, not wanting to be seen as 'the black president.' But he is the black president.”

LBJ Presidential Library Director Mark K. Updegrove said as the conference opened Tuesday that he hoped Obama would use the summit as a platform “to sound the central message that he wants to deliver as president on the subject of race.”

“I don't think he's delivered a signature speech on race since becoming president,” Updegrove said. While Obama has spoken about different aspects of race, his most significant statement about race was during the 2008 campaign, he said.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Wednesday that the president was still working on the speech.

“I would say that President Obama has deep appreciation for the effort that went into passing landmark civil rights legislation -- an effort led by President Johnson, and a successful effort that will be forever to President Johnson's credit,” Carney said. “I think it's fair to say there is a connection between the passing of that legislation, and the fact that Barack Obama is President of the United States says a lot about America. So he looks forward to it. And beyond that, I won't characterize his remarks.”